What is the #, $$$$$ for a person to comfortably call it a work day to live a middle income to upper middle income life for another 30-40 years assuming fairly debt free and standard expenses of auto, insurance, utilities, home and auto upkeep and maintenance, taxes, recreational things like 1-3 annual, domestic type trips and of course chasing Bsmbi in the woods? Not looking for a PhD dissertation here, just the quick and dirty #/$$$$. Shoot it out please....

"The upper middle class income in the United States is generally considered to be between $94,001 and $153,000."

Wow.

Sorry, I have nothing else.

No debt at all $80 - $90 a year should be very comfortable. My basics I spend $60k with no debt, But stack on hunting and travel It is ^^^^^ as I do it alot and go where I want.

When you retire you no longer pat SS, medicare or contribute to retirement. Fed taxes should be lower. Saving money in retirement is not the goal, maintaing funds is it. Enjoy the hell out of it my friend

To me the main factor is your budget. How much money do you need to pay all bills and include some travel, etc. Once you know that number then you can determine your available income including SS, investments, etc. We also read and see people ask questions like "is a million dollars enough to retire on?" That is an irrelevant question since it all depends on how much income you need to live in retirement. It may be 30k a year or 130K a year.

I use a calculator called where you can plug all the numbers in (including factoring in inflation and an assumed rate of return on your investments) - it is www.firecalc.com.

Once your numbers are all plugged in it will tell you if and when you will run out of money.

do you have any other income besides SS?

Are you married? Does she have any income besides SS?

Just re-read your post. You may be too young to retire if you got 40 more years till you croak.

I'll throw out

"That is an irrelevant question since it all depends on how much income you need to live in retirement. It may be 30k a year or 130K a year."

TLK has asked the best question above.. I you're young you will spend a ton more money cuz you will be pretty active and want to do stuff.

One thing I believe people fail to take seriously when retiring before age 65 is medical insurance. Unpaid medical bills are the quickest way to bankruptcy there is.

word

What ever it takes to get to 65-75% of your house hold gross pre-retirement until 90

Everyone has different needs but to retire at the age of fifty I would want at least 5 million in investments.

Very good advice offered. I retired at 63, this was my formula. You will know it is time when watching the grass grow is more important than work.

RS = RETIREMENT SAVINGS
RI = RETIREMENT INCOME
A = ASSETS AVAILABLE TO CONVERT TO REIREMENT INCOME
FA = FUTURE ASSETS, INHERITANCES
T = TIME TO END OF RETIREMENT
V = VARIABLE...COMPROMISED LIFE STYLE

MAGIC NUMBER = WHEN ((RS+RI+A+FA ) IS GREATER THAN ( T) / V )

Just pull the trigger. The worst that can happen is you live on cat food in your later years.

I retired @ 59 just do the math. I think most on the THF are financially better off than the average American. I read where only 3% have over a million dollars in retirement funds.

Not enough information. Will you be getting any type of retirement income or are you referring to just living off of savings?

Not sure what you’re going to need, but I would rather retire early and live a little more frugal. I saw that for most 50 year olds, you have roughly 26 years of life left. Now, Imagine working until your 67 and only having 8-9 years before you move on the next plain. I’m 59 and seriously considering punching out at 62.

Auto Payments
Auto Insurance
Utilities
Home & Auto Maintenance
Taxes
Recreation
PRE-MEDICARE AGE MEDICAL INSURANCE, EXPENSIVE $$$
INFLATION

Punch it!!! You will never look back

Money is something that you can always make more of, or cut back on and spend less. Can’t make more time……

Very good comment-along with many others.

For me it was more than just retiring early. It was about making sure my wife could live her life without financial worries if I were to die before her -
as stated here many times - each person's situation and choices are totally different from anyone else's.

But - I have seen elderly people who were broke because they did not plan properly and believe me you do not want to be there - why do you think most of the people working at Walmart are elderly?? It is not because they want to be working ......... it is because that HAVE TO be working

I’ve got a date circled on the 2025 calendar. Should be able to maintain my current standard of living. Hard to tell without a crystal ball.

I could do everything on your list for 80k a year. YMMV. If you figure no SS then you would need between 2.5mm and 3mm to create that depending on your age. This is where it can get complicated so Ill keep it short and say 80k. It is just math SS + a safe withdrawal rate on your nest egg.

Life starts moving much faster the older you get. I suggest to retire as early as possible.

You can always find a job or make money in the USA.

Did I sell you a Ranger Bass Boat back in the day?

I agree with the "at least $80k per year" answers above. Really depends alot on your tastes - is 'domestic travel' for you taking Greyhound, flying first class, or something in between? Are you accustomed to $30/lb cuts of meat regularly, or are you fine with chicken & pork on sale at $2/lb?

If it were me (and it will be in another 15 years or so), I'd be shooting for close to $100k annual income - SSA retirement, dividend income, part-time self-employment, rent income, etc. Cost of living keeps rising too damn fast.

There are lots of factors to be considered, several I was not aware of. You need good solid information for a retirement decision. Best thing I ever did was get a professional retirement planner. If you don’t think you can afford one, you’re probably not ready to retire. Best of luck to you sir.